Oil-rectifying apparatus for internal-combustion motors



-Nov. 5, 1929. v w. B. CLIFFORD 7 1,734,665

OIL RECTIFYING APPARATUS FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION MOTORS Filed Feb. 1,1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 a2 .99 fl i 35 g 52 56 k I s mes-5 fiezd or'\mmk'mMv Nov. 5, 1929. w. BACLIFFORD OIL RECTIFYINO APPARATUS FORINTERNAL COMBUSTION MOTORS I 2 Sheets-Sheet Filed Fgb. 1, 1926 PatentedNov. 1929 cs1] f WALTER 1 3 CLIFFORD, OE'FRAMINGHAIJI,MASSAGI-IUSETTSQASSIGNOR TO THE CL IF FORD CORPORATION, OF BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS} A CORPORATION" OF MASSA oHUsETTs OIL-REGTIFYING"APPARATUSFOR INTERNAL-COMBUSTION MOTORS Application filed February The presentinvention relates to internal combustion motors. and more partlcularlyto Y apparatus embodied therein for the. purpose ofremoving, diluent-sfrom the crank case oil during the operation of'the motor.

The present invention is in many respects animprovement on the'apparatusdisclosed and claimed in my application filed May 16, 1924,. Serial No.713,857. One object of the present invention is to. design apparatus ofthis type which may be embodied'in existing motors withoutsubstantialchange and which utilizes to the utmost the heat availablefrom the exhaust gases. A further. object of the invention is tosimplify. and improve apparatus of this character in a manner to make iteasily accessible for repair or replacement. of parts and for thepurpose of; cleaning the 1nterior in the event that this becomesnecessary. A still further object oflthe. invention is to reorganize andimprove apparatus of this character. in order to make available quantitymethods of production and. otherwise facilitate the manufacture.

With these-andother objects in view, the various features of theinvention consist in certainnovel features of'construction, com.-binations and arrangements-of parts herein.- after described andclaimed, the advantages of which will be obvious to those skilled intheartv fromthe following description. k

In the accompanying drawings illustrating the preferred form of theinvention,

Fig. 1 represents a section in elevation of rectified is delivered'tothe rectifyingchamher from the usual lubricating system oft't he motor,the oil' supply line leadingflfrom the pressure side of the. pump. Thedelivery of.

oilinto the rectifying chamber. controlled by a thermostaticallyoperated inlet valve 1, 1926.. Serial No. 85,394;

which remains closed'or substantiallyso untill the temperature withinthe-chamber.- is elevated tothe distilling range. Thereafter the valveis opened, permittingthe. .entranceof fresh oil under pressure from:the. pump, and remains open until the. temperature within the chamberdrops sufliciently to cause closure of the valve. The. valve remainsclosed, preventing further en; trance of oil until thetemperature isagain elevated to the predetermined .distilling range,w-hen thereafterthe cycle is repeated, the duration of oil flow and the'timelinte'rvalslapsing therebetween being dependent on the heat of the exhaust, thetemperature of the incoming oil and otherfactors which enter. into theamount of: heat. usefully employed in raising the temperature-ofoil'withinthe chamber. The oil,,aft-er passing throughthe. rectifyingchamber andbeing elevated to the distilling range, is returned'tothecrank case of the motor in' any desired. manner. The vapors distilledfromitheoil, andwhich may represent either vapors. of gasoline,kerosene, or similar fuel or water vapor,are discharged from therectifying chamber above the liquidv level and conducted either into.the air. intake" ofthe carburetor, discharged. directly, into theatmosphere, or ifso. desired led to a. con,- denser for. reuse.

In the illustrated embodiment. of the invention, the rectifying unit isadaptedto .be-

. ports 18 and20. The ports 18 and QO-are con-- nected into the exhaustline, indicatedat Qet,

throughthe medium of coupling sleevess26, threadedly engaging with.heads 28 formed on the casting and having inturned portions 30 whichengage behind annular flanges 32 formed on the exhaust line. Thecoupling sleeves 36 serve to clamp the flanges of the exhaust line tothe heads 28 and form substantially gas-tight joints through theinterposed packing 34, as will be evident. The upper portion of thecasting 10, and more particularly the bowl-shaped chamber 14, is closedby a head 40 which is connected'to the casting through threaded members42. Positioned centrally of the head is a sleeve 44 which in turn isconnected with a relatively thin wall tube 46 which projects downwardlythroughout substantially the entire length of thecylindrical chamber 12.The head 40, the sleeve 44 and the tube 46"may be conveniently securedin assembled relation by a welded area, indicated at 48, which rigidlyconnects the three members together throughout thearea of contact. Thehead 40 may be conveniently drawn or Stamped from sheet metal andprovided with'depressed flanges 50 and 51' for thereception'respectively of a plug 54 and a fitting 56 forming aconnection for the vapor outlet pipe 58. The sleeve 46 encloses andsupports a bellows thermostat 60 whichis connected to the sleeve at itslower end through set screws 62 engaging the sleeve and a head 64forming a part of the thermostat. The upper end of the thermostatcarries an inlet valve 66 which is in the form of a hollow sleeveconnected to the head 68 through a stem 70. The sleeve valve 66 isguided within a head 72 provided with valve ports 74. The head 72threadedly engages at 76 with the sleeve 44 and may be rotativelyadjusted to vary the position of the ports 74 with relation to thesleeve valve 66. The valve head may be located in adjusted position by aclamp nut 80 engaging with the sleeve 44. It will be evident that as thebellows thermostat 6O expands, due to an in crease in temperature withinthe chamber, the sleeve valve is moved upwardly until the small ports 82in the upper portion of the valve register with the ports 74 in thehead. This upward movement of the valve, due to the expansion of thethermostat, is resisted by a light spring 86 extending within the valveand intended to aid in returning the thermostat and valve to its initialinoperative position. The restoring spring 86 is engaged at its upperend by a cap nut 90 threaded upon the upper end of the head 72, asindicated in Fig.1. Incoming oil is delivered to the port 74 by a swivelfitting 99 surrounding the upper portion of the head 72 and having arecessed annular chamber 94 which insures a constant supply of oil tothe port 74. The chamber 94 is in constant communication with an oilinlet pipe 96 through a passage 98. A liquid-tight connection betweenthe oil inlet pipe 96 and the interior of the fitting 99 is secured by athreaded sleeve 98 surrounding the pipe and having a tapered inner end100 which grips the pipe in a manner to form a liquid-tight joint-as thesleeve is threaded into the fitting in a manner which will be evident tothose skilled in the art. Leakage of oil above and below the fitting 74is prevented by gaskets 102 engaging on opposite sides of the fittingand clamped to the fitting by the cap nut 90. With this construction,when the sleeve valve 66 is elevated suflicient- 1y to causeregistration of the ports 82 with the stationary port 74, oil ispermitted to flow downwardly through the valve and thence into theinterior of the rectifying chamber through the series of ports 104.After emerging from the lower series of ports, oil flows downwardlyabout the thermostat and Within the tube 46, thence outwardly throughthe large openings 106 formed in the lower portion of the tube 46,thence upwardly, as indicated by the arrows, within the space betweenthe wall of the rectifying chamber and the sleeve 46. The level of oilwithin the chamber is maintained at substantially the line 108, oildischarging by gravity through the outlet pipe 110. tilled-from the bodyof oil within the chamber rises from the surface of the oil within thebowl-shaped chamber 14 and passes outwardly through the fitting 56 andthe outlet pipe 58. The oil return pipe 110 has a capacity considerablyin excess of that necessary for the returning oil stream, and is indirect communication with the crank case or filler pipe above the oillevel, so that air is permitted to flow upwardly from the oil returnpipe in a direction counter to the direction of flow of the oil stream.This upward stream of air removes any vapor which may be en trained withthe oil stream, and passes outwardly from the bowl-shaped chamber 14 andthe vapor outlet. This air stream in addition to removing vaporsentrained with the oil in the return pipe, tends to dispel and disperseany cloud of vapor which may tend to collect in the chamber 14 above therectifying chamber. The movement of air and the dispersion of the vaporis expedited by openings 112 formed in the upper portion of the sleeve46, as indicated in Fig. 1, permitting air to flow freely through theupper portion of this member and about the valve 66. The temperature ofthe oil within the rectifying chamber may be easily ascertained byremoving the plug 54 and inserting a thermo'metric device within thechamber. The operating temperature within the rectifying chamber may becontrolled by loosening the check nut 80. and rotating the valve head 72to vary the position of the port 74 with relation to the ports 82 in thevalve sleeve 66. It will be evident that by adjusting the position ofthe head 72 vertically with relation to the'valve sleeve, thetemperature at which the two sets of ports register, and accordingly thetemperature at which fresh oil is admitted to the Vapor dis- 5;

riectifying chamber, maybe varied as desired. Obviously the temperatureat which fresh oil is admitted is the temperature within the evidentthat the construction as a unit may be embodied inexisting types ofmotors without substantial alteration, the unit as a whole beinginserted directly in any existing exhaust line where the full volume orsubstan' r tially the full volume of exahust gases will beavailable. Theconstruction may be readily assembled and adjusted for the properoperating temperature by inserting a thermometric device in therectifying chamber and adjusting the valve in such a manner that freshoil is admitted to the chamber when the temperature as indicated by thethermometric device is at the desired distilling point. If for anyreason whatsoever it is desired to remove the temperature control, thismay be readily accomplished by detaching the head and bodily removingthe head with the valve and thermostatic control supported thereby. Thevalve and thermostat assembly may be thereafter detached from the headby disengaging the set screws 62. When the head is removed from thecasting 10 the entire interior of the rectifying chamber is exposed forcleaning or other purposes. During the operation of the device, incomingoil flowing downwardly about the thermo stat and thence upwardly incontact with the outer wall of the rectifying chamber serves to maintainthe thermostat at a temperature lower than the temperature ofdistillation. Furthermore the thermostat is insulated from therelatively hot outer wall of the rectifying chamber by the double wallof oil flowing in opposite directions and the intermediate partitionformed by the tube 46. At the same time the rectifying chamberthroughout substantially its entire length is surrounded by a blanket ofhot exhaust gases contained within the heating chamber 10. It will befurthermore evident that a relatively small quantity of oil is containedwithin the rectifying chamber necessitating a minimum of heat for theelevation of this oil to distilling temperature. The result is toprovide a construction in which the temperature of the oil is raised tothe distilling point within a short time after the operation of themotor is started, and which at the same time provides a capacitysufiiciently adequate to rectify the entire contents of the motor crankcase.

What is claimed is:

1. An oil rectifier for internal combustion V motors comprising arefining chamber of relmajor portion or. its length and terminating atits upper endain an outwardly flared shallOW'POItlOIl, a heating chambersurroundmg the refining chamber, a head closing the upper portion of therefining chamber, a therlets in free communication with the chamber atthe upper flared portion. 7

2. An oil .rectifier'for internal combustion motors comprising arefining-chamber, means for heating the refining chamber, a thermostatextending lengthwise of the chamber, an oil delivery passagecommunicating with the chamber having an admission port formed therein,a hollow sleeve valve connected to the thermostat and having a portadapted to register with the admission port to admit. oil to therefiningchamber upon elevation of the oil within the chamber to apredetermined temperature, and oil and vapor outlets communicating withthe upper portion of the chamber.

r An-oil'rectifier. for internal combustion motors comprising a refiningchamber, means for heating the refining: chamber, a thermostat withinthe refining chamber, a hollow sleeve valve extending lengthwise of thechamber and connected to the thermostat, the sleeve valve being providedwith ports adjacent opposite ends, an oil delivery pas sageprovidedwithan admission port adapted to register with one of the portsin the sleeve valve on predetermined movement of the valve by thethermostat, and oil and vapor outlets communicating with the chamber.

at. An oil rectifier for internal combustion motors comprising a castingprovided with a centrally-disposed, elongated. refining chamberterminating in an outwardly flared, bowl-shaped portion, an annularheating chamber formed in the casting and surrounding the refiningchamber, aithermostat extending lengthwise of therefining chamber. inthe lower portion, a tubular wall surrounding the'thermostat anddividing the chamber intoinner and outer portions, an oil admissionvalveoperated'by the thermostat to govern the'admission of oil intheupper portion of the chamber, an oil outlet pipe of excessivecapacity communicating with theupper bowlshaped portion of the chamber,and a vapor pipe leading from theupper portion of the chamber.

5. An oil rectifier for internal combustion section throughout the majorportion ofv its length, means for heating the chamber, a thermostatdisposed withinthe chamber and extending lengthwise, a hollow sleevevalve connected to the upper end of the thermostat and having upper andlower ports formed therein, an oil admission pipe having a stationaryport adapted to register with the upper port of the sleeve valve uponextension of the thermostat to a predetermined point, and means foradjusting the port in the oil admission pipe with respect to the portsin the sleeve valve in order to vary the temperature at which oil isadmitted to the refining chamber.

6. An oil rectifier for internal combustion motors comprising a refiningchamber, means for heating the chamber, a thermostat located within thechamber, a head, a sleeve adjustably mounted in the head, a hollow valveconnected to the thermostat and sliding within the sleeve and havingports formed therein, an oil admission port in the sleeve adapted toregister with the port in the valve upon movement of the valve to apredetermined position, and means for adjusting the position of thesleeve with respect .to the head to vary the point in the cycle ofoperations at which the ports register.

7. An oil rectifier for internal combustion motors comprising avertically-disposed, elongated refining chamber, abellows thermostatextending lengthwise of the lower portion of the chamber, a head closingthe upper portion of the chamber, a sleeve mounted in the head, a valveconnected to the thermostat and sliding within the sleeve, a swivel oilconnection supported on the upper portion of the sleeve, and means foradjusting the sleeve with respect to the head to vary the point in theexpansion of the thermostat at which oil is admitted to the refiningchamber.

8. An oil rectifier for internal combustion motors comprising a castingprovided with a centrally-disposed, refining chamber, an annular heatingchamber surrounding the refining chamber, a head detachably connected tothe upper portion of the casting and enclosing the refining chamber, anoil outlet connected to the casting and communicating with the upperportion of the chamber, a vapor outlet connected to the headcommunicating with the upper portion of the chamber, a tubular partitiondepending from the head extending downwardly into the refining chamber,a bellows thermostat extending lengthwise within the partition, a valvesleeve adjustably connected to the head, and a valve connected to thethermostat and sliding within the sleeve to control the admission of oilto the interior of the chamber.

9. An oil rectifier for internal combustion motors comprising anelongated refining chamber, means for heating the chamber, a thermostatextending lengthwise of the chamher in the lower portion thereof, atubular partition surrounding the thermostat and dividing the chamberinto inner and outer parts, a hollow sleeve valve connected'to'the' Intestimony whereof I have signed my specification.

name to this WVALTER B. CLIFFORD.

